USA Perpignan

Perpignan

Full name	Union sportive arlequins Perpignan-Roussillon
Founded	1902
Location	Perpignan, France
Ground(s)	Stade Aimé Giral (Capacity: 14,593)
President	François Rivière
Coach(es)	Alain Hyardet Grégory Patat François Gelez
Captain(s)	Guillaume Vilaceca
League(s)	Rugby Pro D2
2014–15	13th (demoted)
1st kit 2nd kit 3rd kit
Official website
www.usap.cat

Union Sportive des Arlequins Perpignanais (In Catalan: Unió Esportiva Arlequins de Perpinyà), generally referred to as USA Perpignan, is a French rugby union club that plays in the city of Perpignan in Pyrénées-Orientales. The club currently competes in the Rugby Pro D2, the second level of the French league system.

The club was founded in 1902 as AS Perpignan, renamed US Perpignan in 1919 and adopted its present name in 1933. Perpignan plays at Stade Aimé Giral (capacity 14 593). The club wears red and gold (Sang et Or = Blood and Gold) colours derived from the Catalan Senyera.

History

The club was established in 1902 as AS Perpignan. It would be in 1914 that the club would go on to make its first ever final appearance. On 3 May, Perpignan defeated Stadoceste Tarbais 8–7 at Stade des Ponts Jumeaux in Toulouse in front of 15,000 people. Several of these champions were killed some months later in World War I and, to honour their sacrifice, it was decided to colour USAP jersey like a Poilu uniform.

Four years after the championship in 1914, the club was renamed as US Perpignan. Under the new club name, US Perpignan made it to the final of the French championship three seasons after the change. On 17 April 1921, Perpignan defeated Stade Toulousain 5–0 at Parc des Sports de Sauclières in Béziers and thus claiming their second championship. Three seasons later, the finalists of 1921 would meet again in the final of 1924, though this time Toulouse won the game 3–0 in Bordeaux.

The success continued throughout the 1920s, and following the final defeat of the 1924 season, US Perpignan were able to make it to the final of the 1925 season. They faced US Carcassonne in Narbonne, and defeated them 5–0 to win the 1925 Championship. For the third season in a row, US Perpignan made it to the final. The opponents were Stade Toulousain once again, the two sides had each defeated each other once in a final in recent years. Toulouse won 11–0 in Bordeaux. After their prominence in the mid-1920s, Perpignan's final appearance in 1926 was their last for nearly a decade.

Perpignan fans at a home game

Perpignan's next final appearance came in 1935 against Biarritz at Stade des Ponts Jumeaux in Toulouse on the 12th of May, with Biarritz winning 3–0. That season they also won the Challenge Yves du Manoir. Three seasons later Perpignan were again involved in the Championship final against Biarritz. The final was played on 8 May, and this time, Perpignan defeated Biarritz, winning 11–6 to claim their first Championship since 1921. They were also runners-up of the Challenge Yves-du-Manoir that same season as well.

The success continued throughout the late 1930s, with Perpignan again being runners-up of the Challenge Yves du Manoir in 1936. It was also the 1936 season that Biarritz and Perpignan would face off in the Championship. Both of Perpignan's last two final appearances were against Biarritz, and both Perpignan and Biarritz had won one each against each other. The final took place on 30 April, and Biarritz turned out to be victorious, defeating Perpignan 6–0. Two years later, Perpignan were in the final of the Challenge Yves du Manoir, but became runners-up.

Their next final appearance would not be until the season of 1944. Perpignan played Aviron Bayonnais at Parc des Princes in Paris on 26 March to decide who would be the champions of France. Perpignan won, defeating Aviron Bayonnais 20–5, claiming their first Championship since 1938.

Perpignan would have to wait another eight years until they would make it to the final again. In the 1952 season, Perpignan met FC Lourdes in the final at Stadium Municipal in Toulouse, where they went down to FC Lourdes 20–11. However, both sides would meet in another final three years later to decide the 1955 Championship. This time Perpignan emerged victorious, defeating FC Lourdes 11–6 in Bordeaux. Perpignan also won the Challenge Yves du Manoir during the 1955 season, and were runners-us the following year as well.

USA Perpignan during a Heineken Cup match

Perpignan won the Challenge Yves du Manoir in 1965, but made their first final appearance 20 years after 1955, to decide the 1977 season Championship. They met AS Béziers in the final, who defeated Perpignan 12–4 at Parc des Princes. Perpignan won the Challenge Yves du Manoir in 1994, but they would next appear in the final in 1998, where they went down to Stade Français 34–7 in Paris in front of 78,000 people.

In 2002, the club entered into a partnership with the University of Barcelona Rugby Union Club, hence renaming them USAP Barcelona, which compete in the División de Honor, the national Championship in Spain. Perpignan made it to the 2004 final, where they met Stade Français, who defeated them in the 1998 final. Stade Français won again, 38–20 at Stade de France in front of 79,722 people.

In European competition, USAP reached the final stage in 2003 (losing 21–17 to Toulouse in Dublin Lansdowne Road) after losing a 1999 semi-final in Toulouse Stadium against Colomiers. They were beaten in the quarter-finals in Lansdowne Road again in 2006 by eventual winners Munster.

They signed All Blacks fly-half Dan Carter, widely regarded as one of the world's best players, on a six-month deal starting from December 2008.^[1] Carter's stint at Perpignan, however, ended prematurely when he tore an Achilles tendon.

Their season ended by progressing into the Top 14 semi-final with a 25–21 win over Stade Français and eventually winning it with a fantastic 22–13 win over ASM Clermont Auvergne in the final. In 2010, they advanced to the final again against Clermont, but they saw Les Jaunards end decades of frustration by winning their first championship final in 11 tries.

In 2011 they signed a twinning agreement with FC Barcelona of Spain, which proposes USAP to be promoted through FC Barcelona.

Club honours

• Top 14
  • Champions: 1914, 1921, 1925, 1938, 1944, 1955, 2009 (7 times)
  • Runners-up: 1924, 1926, 1935, 1939, 1952, 1977, 1998, 2004, 2010 (9 times)
• Challenge Yves du Manoir
  • Champions: 1935, 1955, 1994 (3 times)
  • Runners-up:1936, 1937, 1938, 1956, 1965 (5 times)
• Heineken Cup
  • Runners-ups: 2003

Finals results

French championship

Date	Winner	Runner-up	Score	Venue	Attendance
3 May 1914	AS Perpignan	Stadoceste Tarbais	8–7	Stade des Ponts Jumeaux, Toulouse	15,000
17 April 1921	US Perpignan	Stade Toulousain	5–0	Parc des Sports de Sauclières, Béziers	20,000
27 April 1924	Stade Toulousain	US Perpignan	3–0	Parc Lescure, Bordeaux	20,000
3 May 1925	US Perpignan	AS Carcassonne	5–0	Maraussan, Narbonne	20,000
2 May 1926	Stade Toulousain	US Perpignan	11–0	Parc Lescure, Bordeaux	25.000
12 May 1935	Biarritz Olympique	USA Perpignan	3–0	Stade des Ponts Jumeaux, Toulouse	23,000
8 May 1938	USA Perpignan	Biarritz Olympique	11–6	Stade des Ponts Jumeaux, Toulouse	24,600
30 April 1939	Biarritz Olympique	USA Perpignan	6–0 AP	Stade des Ponts Jumeaux, Toulouse	23,000
26 March 1944	USA Perpignan	Aviron Bayonnais	20–5	Parc des Princes, Paris	35,000
4 May 1952	FC Lourdes	USA Perpignan	20–11	Stadium Municipal, Toulouse	32,500
22 May 1955	USA Perpignan	FC Lourdes	11–6	Parc Lescure, Bordeaux	39,764
29 May 1977	AS Béziers	USA Perpignan	12–4	Parc des Princes, Paris	41,821
16 May 1998	Stade Français	USA Perpignan	34–7	Stade de France, Saint-Denis	78,000
26 June 2004	Stade Français	USA Perpignan	38–20	Stade de France, Saint-Denis	79,722
6 June 2009	USA Perpignan	ASM Clermont Auvergne	22–13	Stade de France, Saint-Denis	79,205
29 May 2010	Clermont Auvergne	USA Perpignan	19–6	Stade de France, Saint-Denis	79,262

Heineken Cup

Date	Winner	Runner-up	Score	Venue	Attendance
24 May 2003	Stade Toulousain	USA Perpignan	22–17	Lansdowne Road, Dublin	28,600

Current standings

2015–16 Rugby Pro D2 Table
	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points For	Points Against	Points Diff	Try Bonus	Losing Bonus	Points
1	Lyon	22	20	0	2	738	340	+398	9	2	91
2	Bayonne	22	15	1	6	496	426	+70	3	3	68
3	Béziers	22	13	1	8	555	466	+89	3	3	60
4	Aurillac	22	13	0	9	524	450	+74	4	3	59
5	Perpignan	22	11	1	10	519	458	+61	4	5	55
6	Colomiers	22	10	3	9	436	436	0	3	3	52
7	Albi	22	11	2	9	426	438	-12	1	2	51
8	Mont De Marsan	22	10	1	11	418	475	-57	2	3	47
9	Montauban	22	10	0	12	407	448	−41	0	6	46
10	Narbonne	22	10	0	12	438	489	−51	1	5	46
11	Bourgoin	22	9	0	13	414	427	–13	3	7	46
12	Biarritz	22	10	0	12	457	430	+27	2	3	45
13	Carcassonne	22	8	0	14	346	530	−184	0	4	36
14	Dax	22	7	1	14	394	527	–133	0	4	34
15	Tarbes	22	8	0	14	421	466	−45	0	9	33
16	Provence Rugby	22	6	0	16	376	559	−183	0	3	27
Green background (row 1) Champions automatically promoted to Top 14. Blue background denotes teams that qualify for the promotion play-offs. Red background relegation to Fédérale 1. Note: When two teams have the same points total, position is calculated by results between teams before points difference. Note: Tarbes have had 8 points deducted and will also be automatically relegated at the end of the season.

Current squad

2015-16 Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Union Raphaël Carbou Hooker France Jean-Philippe Genevois Hooker France Romain Terrain Hooker France Jérémy Bécasseau Prop France Rudy Cheron Prop France Jean-Baptiste Custoja Prop France David Christophe Prop France Enzo Forletta Prop France Paulica Ion Prop Romania Tevita Mailau Prop Tonga Giorgi Mchedlishvili Prop Georgia Bastien Chalureau Lock France Loïc Charlon Lock France Kirill Kulemin Lock Russia Guillaume Vilaceca Lock France Yohan Vivalda Lock France Christophe Andre Flanker France Lucas Bachelier Flanker France Benjamin Beaux Flanker France Karl Chateau Flanker France Jean-Pierre Pérez Flanker France Alasdair Strokosch Flanker Scotland Dimitri Basilaia Number 8 Georgia Alan Brazo Number 8 France Nicolas Rabat Number 8 France

Player Position Union Sébastien Descons Scrum-half France Dewaldt Duvenage Scrum-half South Africa Tom Ecochard Scrum-half France Tommaso Allan Fly-half Italy Mathieu Bélie Fly-half France Romuald Seguy Fly-half France Enzo Selponi Fly-half France Lifeimi Mafi Centre New Zealand David Marty Centre France Sione Piukala Centre Tonga Jens Torfs Centre Belgium Yohann Artru Wing France Jonathan Bousquet Wing France Samuel Faconnier Wing France Apimeleki Nawaqatabu Wing Fiji Jean-Bernard Pujol Wing France Julien Farnoux Fullback France Joffrey Michel Fullback France

Notable former players

Federico Martín Aramburú Rimas Álvarez Kairelis Alejandro Allub José Orengo Sebastian Bozzi Daniel Herbert Robins Tchale-Watchou Mike James Phil Murphy Perry Freshwater Dan Luger Samueli Naulu Puig Aubert Pascal Bomati Didier Camberabero Frédéric Cermeno Damien Chouly Marc Dal Maso Nicolas Durand Charles Geli Bernard Goutta

Raoul Got Jean-Philippe Grandclaude Raphaël Ibañez Jean-Francois Imbernon Thierry Lacroix Gregory Le Corvec Marc Lièvremont Thomas Lièvremont Nicolas Mas Jo Maso David Mélé Maxime Mermoz Olivier Olibeau Vincent Planté Christophe Porcu Jerome Porical Jérome Schuster Farid Sid Mick O'Driscoll Ramiro Pez

Dan Carter Scott Robertson Marius Tincu Ovidiu Tonita Steve Meyer Percy Montgomery Henry Tuilagi Nathan Hines Viliami Vaki William Leon Jefferson Richard Parks James Hook Luke Charteris Chris Cusiter

See also

• List of rugby union clubs in France
• Rugby union in France

References

1. Pryor, Matthew (28 June 2008). "Dan Carter joins Perpignan". The Times. Retrieved 28 June 2008.

External links

• (French) USA Perpignan Official website
• (French) Official fans site of Perpignan in Paris
• Data, results, etc from ITS rugby